Man Gets 87 Months For Stealing Credit Card Numbers

May 14, 2011

A New York man was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for his role  in a conspiracy to steal and use the credit and debit card information of more than 600 victims, many of them in Escambia County.

Federal prosecutors said Gaspar Bishop, 20, of Brooklyn, New York, induced his co-defendant, Elizabeth Lail-Caldare, to use her position as a waitress at Famous Dave’s restaurant in Pensacola to steal the credit and debit card information of the restaurant’s customers. Bishop provided Lail-Caldare with a skimming device that enabled her to capture the names, account numbers, and other information from credit and debit cards of approximately 60 customers.

Bishop routinely met with Lail-Caldare to retrieve the skimmer and o download the information she had stolen. He then used the stolen information to create counterfeit cards that he and confederates used to obtain money and merchandise from businesses in Florida, Alabama, Pennsylvania, and New York.

The conspiracy involved not only the theft of account information from Famous Dave’s customers, but thefts from other victims as well. At the conclusion of a sentencing hearing held yesterday in federal district court in Tallahassee, the court found Bishop was involved in the theft of identifying information of more than 600 victims. As part of the sentence, the court ordered Bishop to pay $38,454 in restitution.

Both Bishop and Lail-Caldare pled guilty earlier this year to conspiracy, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft arising from their involvement in the identity theft scheme.

Lail-Caldare’s sentencing is scheduled for June 22, 2011. The trial of their co-defendant, Trevor Hubbard, is scheduled for June 6, 2011.

Comments

5 Responses to “Man Gets 87 Months For Stealing Credit Card Numbers”

  1. nobody special on May 15th, 2011 8:51 am

    I’m just glad they got them….to many times these crimes are not even investigated.
    I guess because it crossed state lines the Federal Boys were involved.
    I am also glad that restitution will have to be made, I just hope it is to the
    victims and not just the government.

    Is there no end to dishonest people these days?

  2. Jane on May 15th, 2011 7:23 am

    So please tell me why scrimmers are allowed to be sold on the internet??!!!

  3. Agree on May 14th, 2011 11:17 am

    I agree, Sambo.

  4. Concerned on May 14th, 2011 7:48 am

    Is this why Famous Dave’s shut their doors earlier this year? We ate there once after someone gave us a gift card. The food was delicious.

  5. sambo on May 14th, 2011 7:40 am

    It should have been 87 years!

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News